


Broken Hearted

by Goodnightwife



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-16 11:25:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16953117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goodnightwife/pseuds/Goodnightwife
Summary: You are an engineer and migraine sufferer who finds your soulmate in a certain handsome doctor. But do you even want a soulmate? When people talked about soul mates, it was always with a wonder lust in their eyes. They wanted to meet their soul mate and live happily ever after. And for a while when you were a teenager, you felt that way too. But as an adult, the thought of the universe picking the person you were meant to be with using a possibly arbitrary symbol-on-skin system just didn’t seem quite right. You wanted to fall in love, sure. But you wanted to choose the person and have the person choose you.Featuring: Romulans and Leonard's Temper





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my Tumblr, although this version will have some updates and edits as I read back through. I have read so many soul mate AU’s that I’m intrigued and want to try my hand at it. Just in case this idea that I have isn’t new, I’m not trying to copy anyone! For this first part, if you’ve ever had a migraine, you understand the pain!

 

"Reach for the stars," your family had told you when you were too young to not take them literally. So reach you did and, with Starfleet's help, you achieved the stars in the form of being an engineer on the elite Starship Enterprise. You were living the dream... most days. But of the many things space had brought you, the one thing you wish you could give back was the increase of your migraines. Today your head was pounding. Scotty had decided to send you to Jefferies Tube 7 to check one of the conduits there and climbing the ladders and through the tubes wasn’t helping your head at all. Normally this would have been a joyful assignment for you but by the time you get back to engineering to report to Scotty, you have a full-blown migraine. Scotty immediately sends you to the Medbay after taking one look at your pale face and drawn features.

You stumble into the Medbay, squinting through the pain the bright lights cause, and Nurse Christine Chapel puts you in Exam room two and turns the lights down a bit. As you climb up onto the biobed, it starts its beeping and monitoring your vitals. Sitting on the bed with your legs hanging over the side, you let your hair down. It’s long and heavy and makes a headache ten times worse. Shaving your head seems like a good idea today. You lean forward and rest your forehead on your knees, gently pulling all your hair over your head and massage the back of your neck. You breath through your mouth and help keep your lunch down as a wave of nausea washes over you. Your cool fingers rub over the soul mate tattoo located in the center of the back of your neck, just below the hairline. People never really notice it back there, and in all honesty, you don’t think about it much. All of your friends have already met their soul mate and you have decided that it’s just not going to happen for you. You’re not even sure you remember what it looks like. Love is the last thing on your mind. Pain and nausea pretty much take over every other thought. Stupid migraines.

You hear the doctor quietly enter the room; you glance through your hair to see Dr. McCoy leaning on the counter with a PADD in his hand. Presumably, he’s looking at your medical records.

“Well, Lieutenant Y/L/N, what seems to be the trouble?” he asks. Thankfully, his voice is soft at the moment and deep enough to not cause too much pain.

“Migraine," you whisper through your hair. He steps to your side and runs the tricorder over you. You miss the way he pauses slightly when he sees the back of your neck, not that you would have cared at that moment anyway because even the soft beeping of the Tricorder is painful. He replaces your now hot hand with his cool one on the back of your neck. It feels heavenly. He gently massages for a moment.

“I see you have a prescription to take at the onset of a migraine, did you take it this time?” His deep, soft voice penetrates through your hair.

You shake your head carefully. "Was in a Jefferies Tube," you manage to whisper just loud enough for him to lean down and hear.

“Alright, I’m going to give you something to knock out this one, but we are going to have to talk more about continued treatment once the pain has subsided. Perhaps something you take daily. Deal?”

You give a tiny nod and he steps away but returns quickly and puts a hypo to your neck, pushing the button to release the medication and then massaging your skin to ease the prick of pain there. He places a cooling pack on the back of your neck and gently helps you lay down on your side, keeping the pack in place on your neck.

“Getting better?” he asks.

“Yes. The cold pack is helping too," you whisper back, feeling a little light headed but no longer wishing for a full decapitation.

“Good. I’m going to turn these lights out and let you rest. You might fall asleep for a little while and that’s fine, just let it happen.”

“Okay, Doc.”

He turned the biobed's noise off except for emergency alarms and turned the lights down to barely a glow and the door gently swooshes closed behind him. After just a second of having your eyes closed and the pain ebbing away, a blissful, dreamless sleep takes you.

* * *

 

You wake confused. The room you are in is dark but it's not yours and you feel like you might not be alone.

“Computer, lights at 40%.” A soft, deep voice commands. The dim lights slowly turn on you sit up to see Dr. McCoy leaning against the counter again.

“How are you feeling now, Y/N?” He asks.

“Better I think. Sleeping helped. I just feel kind of… fragile I guess. Like if I even think the wrong thing, the headache will come back.”

“That’s understandable and normal. How long have you had migraines?”

“Pretty much always. They seem worse in space though. Not sure why really.”

“There are many triggers for migraines. Unfortunately some people’s trigger can be the artificial lights on a starship or the frequency of the hum of the engines. Being an engineer, you might be especially susceptible to that. There are ways to combat this, of course, and we can talk about those, but I have another question to ask you first.”

“Yes?”

“Your soulmate tattoo on the back of your neck.”

“Yes, what about it?”

“When’s the last time you looked at it?”

“I honestly don’t remember. It’s not easy to see, I have to use two mirrors and I only have one in my quarters.”

“Alright.” He responded stepping forward and pushing his left sleeve up to reveal his forearm. “Does it look something like this perhaps?”

You examined his arm to see one simple black squiggly line with two spikes up, one spike down, and one smaller spike up.

“Ummmm.” You stare hard at his arm. “I don’t think mine is exactly the same as that. It’s similar though. I think mine has less spikes than yours.”

“You think so?” He sounded amused.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve seen mine and I honestly don’t think about it that much at all, but I don’t think mine looks quite like that.”

“Would you mind if I showed you something?” He turned to retrieve his PADD off of the counter. “When you joined Starfleet, at your first medical exam, do you remember that they took a picture of your tattoo for your medical records?”

“Oh yeah, I guess they did. I had forgotten about that. Do you have the picture of it there?”

“Yep, sure do.” He tapped the screen a couple times and handed it over to you, a smug smile on his face.

You stare down at the PADD, confused. You really thought your tattoo was different, although you have only ever seen a mirror image of it. You silently hold your hand out and he presents his arm for another inspection. Holding the PADD next to his arm, you confirm that the tattoos are identical. Your hands begin to shake and he gently takes the PADD from you before you drop it.

“Well, darlin’, it seems that we are meant to be together.” He grinned.

You stare at him. He is handsome, that’s for sure. With dark hair and beautiful eyes, he was clearly pleased with himself. That cocky smirk though. The universe had chosen him for you, but at this moment, you couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t your type at all. So sure of himself and you had heard stories of his sarcasm and anger issues. He wouldn’t hesitate to yell at even the Captain if he disagreed with something. Scotty seemed to think well enough of him, but that didn’t mean much because Scotty liked most people. No, this had to be a mistake or a bad joke.

“Well, Doc,” you begin, hopping off of the biobed and edging toward the door. “Thanks for fixing my migraine and you can just message me some tips on how to avoid them in the future.”

“Y/N, wait, please,” he took a step toward you but stopped when you put your hand up.

“No really, thank you, but I need… I need to go.” You turn and try not to run out of the Medbay with all the dignity you can muster, which isn’t much. Back in your quarters where you can breath again, you realize it is dinnertime and so you sit down to eat a replicated bacon hamburger. It’s perfect post-migraine food. Your thoughts run wild about what you are supposed to do now. What do you do when you don’t immediately like the person who’s supposed to be your soul mate?


	2. The Decision

When people talked about soulmates, it was always with a wanderlust in their eyes. They wanted to meet their soulmate, fall immediately, hopelessly in love and live happily ever after. And for a while when you were a teenager, you felt that way too. You spent hours dreaming of your soulmate, wishing that they would be just around the corner, waiting to sweep you off your feet into a life of bliss. But as an adult, the thought of the universe picking the person you were meant to be with via a possibly arbitrary symbol-on-skin system just didn’t seem quite right. You wanted to fall in love and be loved in return like everyone else, but you wanted to choose the person and have the person choose you back. As you went through school and classes at Starfleet, you began to doubt your ability to fall in love at the drop of a hat. So you and Dr. McCoy have the same tattoo. So what? Does that mean that you are automatically supposed to fall into his strong arms, stare into his handsome face and just BE in love? You wished it was that easy. But love is complicated at best but most of all, you wanted the choice. You refused to allow some black squiggles on the back of your neck dictate the way your heart should turn.

The next few days you threw yourself into your work. Scotty sent you all over the ship, one Jefferies tube after another. You liked the solitude and you were unlikely to meet the Doctor in a tube somewhere. Unlike the more sociable areas of the ship, the tubes were quiet, only the hum of the ship to keep you company. This also gave you plenty of time to think. You hear your mother’s voice in your head, reminding you that a soulmate is a soulmate and running from that has never done anyone good. You’ve heard stories of people who married someone who wasn’t their soulmate. Things were okay for a while, but it always ended badly.

Without a soulmate, you were alone. Alone on this ship and alone in life. You had some friends, but no one really close to you. But could you just go along with something that you didn’t choose? Could you give up independent thought in favor of something the universe chose for you without explanation? No, you didn’t think you could. But you didn’t want to deal with the fallout of making a bad decision or ignoring the matching tattoos just because you “didn’t wanna”. So, after three days of crawling through tubes and thinking, you finally decide to talk to the Doctor.

Taking a deep breath outside the door of the Medbay after your shift, you square your shoulders and mentally strengthen your resolve as you step inside. It’s apparently a slow evening. The exam rooms seem empty and you actually have to call out to find someone. Of course, Dr. McCoy steps out of his office.

“Oh, Y/N!” He looks surprised but smiles into your eyes. “Are you okay? Do you have another migraine?”

“No, Dr. McCoy, I’m alright," your hands nervously twist together in front of your stomach. You whip them around to your back. Traitors.  "I just came to talk to you if you have a couple minutes.”

“Sure, darlin'.” He smiled. Damn, he really is quite handsome. “Step into my office and have a seat, I’ll tell Nurse Beckett to come up front.”

You nod and enter his office, taking a seat on the small couch against the wall. His desk is empty except for a computer terminal and PADD. He was probably catching up on paperwork. Isn’t that what doctors always seem to be doing in their down time?

After a minute, he came in and closed the door.

"Can I offer you a coffee or anything?" he asked, standing in front of his small replicator. You simply shook your head no. Taking a seat at his desk, he steeples his hands and waits, eyebrows raised.

“Well, I, um... Er, that is to say.” You begin, ever so articulately. It was hard to concentrate around this man and that kind of annoys you. You like being in charge of your own faculties. You clear your throat and sit up straighter on the edge of your seat. “Dr. McCoy,” you begin again. “I wanted to talk to you about this whole tattoo, soulmate business.”

“Alright, darlin’. What shall we talk about specifically?”

“Well,” you stand and begin to pace in front of his desk. “I have a few problems with the whole idea in general. First, I like to make my own choices, especially on something as important as this. I don’t think I like the thought that a few lines that we happen to be born with can dictate our futures. Second, I like you well enough I guess but I don’t know you. How can I be expected to just fall into your arms just because the tattoos happen to match?”

“Anything else?” He asks quietly, his face remained soft and open.

“Yes.” You sit and take a breath, talking more at the floor than at him. “I’ve heard stories of people who married someone who wasn’t their soulmate and it ended badly. I don’t want that. And I don’t think that I can ignore what I know about you and me either. I’m honestly not sure what to do about it.”

“Well, may I say something now?” he leaned forward slightly. 

“Please," you nod and remember to breath. 

“Good,” he stood and came around his desk to perch on its surface in front of you, crossing his arms over his chest. Damn, those arms were nice too. “I like to make my own choices too. I know only too well what happens when people who aren’t soulmates marry and try to ignore their true soulmate. But I also know that being soulmates doesn’t mean everything will be perfect. Any relationship, even friendship, takes work and a willingness on the part of both parties to work together and not give up. I guess I acted foolishly when I realized we are soulmates because I honestly never thought I would have one. I don’t expect you to fall into my arms. I don’t expect you to fall in love with me instantly any more than I expected myself to fall in love with you instantly.”

“So what do we do?” you liked where this was heading. 

“We take it slow. Get to know each other. Spend time together and let whatever is between us become whatever it will become. We might be best friends, we might be lovers, we might just be very good companions. Who knows? But these marks tell me that we should at least get to know each other and see what happens. No pressure. As you said, these lines that we happen to be born with don’t have to dictate our future. But they can give us a nudge in the right direction. How does that sound?”

“That sounds like something I can handle. Sounds logical," you found yourself smiling into his hazel eyes. 

“Oh god,” he rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell Spock, I’ll never live it down.” You laugh, knowing the rumors about their back and forth. 

“Wow.” He said, his eyes getting big. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you smile and laugh. It’s…" he faulted and his cheeks actually got a little pink.  "I'm mean, you’re beautiful.”

Now it's your turn and you feel your cheeks getting a little pink under his gaze. You aren’t used to compliments, people don’t typically pay that much attention to you.

“Oh, I like that too,” he said, stepping toward you. You scoot over and give him room to sit on the couch. He puts his arm casually around the back of you on the couch. You can feel the heat of him but he's not actually touching you. 

“Well, I like your arms and your eyes.” You admit softly, trying to give as good as you got, but still feeling a little uncomfortable being this close to him in a small room.

"Y/N," he began, sensing your uneasiness. "How about you and I go to the cafeteria and get some dinner. It's a nice big open place and quite public." His smile was kind and soft.

"That sounds nice," you agree and he slowly takes your hand in his strong, capable grasp and pulls you to stand in front of him. 

"You really are very beautiful," he whispered, letting his eyes roam your face and hair.

"Thank you, so are you," you respond honestly. He smiled and led the way to dinner.

As expected the cafeteria was filled with crew members eating dinner but the acoustics in the room allowed for quiet conversation in the corner. You and Dr. McCoy sat at a table for two slightly away from the majority of the crowd.

"So, Dr. McCoy," you began. "Tell me what brought you to Starfleet."

"First, please call me Leonard," he started. "Second, my coming to Starfleet had more to do with my ex-wife than me. She pretty much got the whole planet in the divorce and I needed an escape. I was already a doctor so the Medical Track was a no brainer."

You nodded and lifted your spoon full of soup to your lips. Leonard's eyes caught on your hand and he frowned.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the back of your right hand. You put your spoon down and glanced to your hand.

"Oh, it's just a scratch," you reply quickly. "There are some places on this ship that even my hands have to squeeze to get into and I got caught this morning on the edge of the panel. It's nothing."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that," he said, standing up. "I'll be right back."

You watched as he walked back to the door and opened a small panel in the wall and pull out a tiny med kit. You had heard rumors that he had med kits stashed all around the ship but was surprised to actually see one. He walked back to the table, sat, and took your hand. Your skin jumped at his touch. He quickly cleaned the cut with a swab of something or other that stung slightly and smelled of disinfectant and then dabbed some ointment on it.

"There," he said, putting things back into the kit. "You'll be good as new in a couple days. Just keep it clean."

"Yes, sir," you said with a grin. You decided that you kind of liked being taken care of and his hands, though gentle, caused a reaction in you that you hadn't expected. He returned your smile and gave your fingers a squeeze before releasing you and going back to his meal. Conversation with him was easy and when he dropped you off at your door, he simply bid you goodnight and thanked you for the lovely evening. He didn't try to kiss you and even hug you, he simply held your hands in his. You moved through your nighttime routine while your mind went back over everything said through dinner. Curling up in your bed, you let sleep take you as a contented smile graced your lips.


	3. The Station

Over the next few weeks, you and Leonard spent enough time together to get to know each other and learn other’s habits and little eccentricities. For example, Leonard learned that you needed at least 8 hours of sleep a night to feel rested and when you didn’t get it, no amount of coffee on the whole ship could fix it. You are also more prone to migraines when you’re sleep deprived, so Leonard made extra certain to always have you back to your quarters in time to get enough sleep. You learned that just because he frowns and gives his trademark “dammit”, doesn’t mean he’s truly angry just frustrated. You also learned that he can be talked down from most of his frustrations, or at least distracted from them. Although, anger can be a problem for him sometimes. He’s very protective over the crew, you and the command officers especially. As a result of spending time around Leonard, you spend time around his two best friends, the Captain and Mr. Spock. Leonard consistently denied that Spock was one of his best friends, but you knew the truth that both men denied. 

Once they were told (Leonard told them, you didn’t) that you were soulmates, Captain Kirk insisted that you call him Jim (in social settings only of course) and Mr. Spock made every effort to include you in anything he thought you might find interesting. Mostly engineering related things. Scotty, when Jim told him, came and found you and gave you a huge hug. He was so pleased that you had found your soulmate that you didn’t have the heart to tell him your misgivings about the whole soulmate situation. So, now that you are in the “limelight” on the ship, things begin to happen in your career that might not have happened otherwise. You are included on away teams. Scotty recommends you for just about every away mission an engineer is needed on and often takes you along as his assistant, even if he doesn’t really need one. He said the experience is invaluable.

On this particular mission, however, Leonard has a different opinion. The Enterprise had been called to work on an abandoned spacestation that was in orbit around a planet near the Neutral Zone between Federation and Romulan space. The station's crew had already been transported down to the colony on the planet until a new space station could be towed into place. 

“Why the hell they need you to go out to that god-forsaken space station is beyond me!” he complained, while packing a medkit with more fury than the task required.

“They need me because I’m an engineer, Leonard. I fix things and that space station is falling out of space. At its current rate of decent, it will enter the planet’s atmosphere in less than 5 hours! I have to go and assist Scotty.” You know arguing doesn’t really work with Leonard. His concern often times comes out in angry bursts that you can typically deal with, but when it comes to your job, you’re firm. “I’m going Leonard, and I’m sorry but I can’t let you interfere with that.”

“As your doctor, I can," he said in a low voice, pausing his packing and looking at you, his dark eyes conveying anger and something else that you aren’t ready to deal with yet.

“You wouldn’t do that.” You reply confidently, knowing it’s an empty threat.

“No, I wouldn’t.” He sighed, shoulders falling a little. He continued putting supplies in the medkit.

“But aren’t you coming too?” You try to help him feel better about the whole situation. “If something happens, you’ll be right there.”

“It’s a big station, darlin’.” He replied. “I’ll try to be close, but that’s not a guarantee. You and Scotty are going to be all over the place and I can’t follow you around like a puppy.”

“Oh really?” You smile and step to his side, rubbing a hand down his arm. “You seem to be okay doing that on Enterprise.”

“Don’t start something you’re not ready to finish, sweetheart.” He said with a mischievous smile, turning toward you.

“Oh, sorry about that,” you take a step back, uncertain now of what you were doing touching him. You had only held his hand until now and running your hand down his arm like that was a big change. “Well, um, I just, I should um.” You stutter and blush as he takes another step toward you, a look in his eye that he has not had before. Whatever it meant, it was dangerous and you weren’t sure you were ready for it.

“Darlin’, if you keep being so adorable, I’m going to get very distracted on this mission.” He keeps walking toward you slowly and you keep backing up until your back is against the wall. He had gone from angry-medkit-packer to stalking-soulmate-predator in the space of a single touch. One more step and he was toe to toe with you against the wall. Leaning forward, places his hands against the wall near the sides of your head, his face inches from yours as he searched your eyes. “Sweetheart, you have to promise me that you will do everything in your power to remain safe while we are over there and to call me the instant something doesn’t feel right. If you get even a twinge of a headache or a scratch on your finger, I want to know about it.”

You nod, barely able to do much else.

“Promise me, I need to hear your sweet voice, darlin’.” He stared you down, still not touching you. 

“I promise.” You whisper, his dark eyes boring holes into your very soul.

“Good!” He turn and went back to packing the medkit. “Now, shouldn’t you gather some tools or something? Make sure you bring a jacket, it’s probably going to be cold over there until the environmental controls are fully online.”

“Yes, right, good.... I'll just do that and see you in the transporter room.” You practically run from Medbay and straight to engineering, breathing a sigh when you get back into your comfort zone. You gather your tools and check in with Scotty to make sure he has everything he needs. In the transporter room, everyone is issued regulation jackets and phasers, just in case.

The away team consisted of Mr. Spock and his assistant Ensign Porter, Scotty, Dr. McCoy, a few security guards you hadn’t met yet, and you. The goal was to get the space station operational enough to be towed back to a larger starbase for the major repairs. The only hitches are the time constraints and the fact that you are less than a light year from the Neutral Zone bordering Federation space and Romulan space. The Romulans were inherently suspicious of anyone who wasn’t, well, Romulan.

The away team beamed into the station’s bridge. The jacket was a good idea because it was cold. As soon as the golden sparkles were out of everyone’s eyes and Leonard determined that everyone came over with all their arms and legs attached correctly, the real work began. First up were the environmental controls. A few taps at few different stations restored enough power to get the heat going again and the temperature began to stabilize. Air and gravity were already online, Scotty determined that before beaming in. The Bridge looked much like Enterprise’s bridge except where Enterprise was bright, sometimes blinding, this bridge was dark. Completely black corners at every turn.

Once Scotty has determined that the turbolifts are in working order, the two of you head to engineering to get the core online and check the structural integrity of the station so it can be towed. Mr. Spock and his assistant begin working on the secondary systems while Leonard heads to the Medbay with a couple security guards to pull the medical supplies and deliver them to the planet’s surface for the outpost there. Technically, this didn’t require the CMO, this could have been done by anyone really, but Leonard insisted. You’re pretty sure he just wanted to be near you, but near isn’t exactly the appropriate word for where you are. He was right; this is a big station.

The structural integrity of the station wasn't too bad. Some bulkheads needed bracing and the engines needed a few repairs. Nothing you and Scotty can't handle. You and Scotty work like a well-oiled machine, not needing to talk much as you worked, you just followed each other’s movements and thoughts.

Scotty sent you into one of the Jefferies tubes to check a manifold relay and replace some of its circuits when the whole station shuttered and buckled. The lights blinked a couple of times but stayed on. Your communicator beeped insistently.

“Y/N! Are ye a'right, lass?” Scotty sounded a little panicked.

“I’m alright. What happened?” you respond.

“I’m not sure, get out of there and head back to the bridge. I’ll meet you there. Be careful.”

“Roger, on my way.” You began the climb down the ladder when the station jerked again. It was almost like the station was being fired on. Your communicator beeped again. 

“Y/N here.” You answer, knowing who was calling this time.

“Thank God! Are you okay, Y/N? Where are you?” Leonard’s voice didn’t sound any calmer than Scotty’s.

“I’m alright. What’s going on?” You keep climbing down. You had four floors to go.

“Romulans crossed into Federation space, they claim this is their station and we stole it. They fired a couple of times before Jim put the Enterprise in between the Romulan ship and us. Where are you?”

“I’m climbing down from a Jefferies tube.” You huff out.

“Climbing?! How high are you?”

“Um, about three floors now. Scotty told me to head to the bridge.”

“Oh, good. She's only three floors up a ladder while we're attacked.” You can practically see the sarcasm dripping out of the communicator’s speaker. “Get yourself out of there! One more hit and that part of the station might lose life support.”

“Okay, I’d go a lot faster if people would stop calling me, you know.”

“Keep this channel open. You don’t have to talk but I need to hear that you’re okay.” He certainly was demanding when he was concerned. It warmed your heart knowing that he cared about you, even if you weren’t really ready for more.

“Alright, I’ll keep it open.” you agree and shove the communicator into your top jacket pocket so it was still close enough to your face to hear. 

“Good.” You keep climbing down. It always seems to take longer coming down than it did going up.

“Alright, Leonard, I’m down,” you inform him as your feet hit solid deck.

“Good, now get up to the bridge.”

“Yes sir just gotta get my tools together.” You bend over to being putting tools in your bag. 

“Dammit woman, forget the damn tools and get your damn ass to the bridge now!” Leonard yelled angrily, though you knew he wasn't really angry. He was scared. 

“Alright! Alright!” You huff. Superior officer and soulmate be damned, he was not going to talk to you that way no matter how afraid for you he was. “We need to have a talk when we get back to the Enterprise, Leonard.”

“We will talk about anything you want for as long as you want, just get up here! That part of the station took the brunt of the attack and Mr. Spock says the life support systems are failing.”

“I was wondering why it was colder in here. I’ll be there in five minutes. Y/N out.” You closed the comm link against Leonard’s sputtering. You were almost surprised he didn’t immediately call you back and chew you out some more.

Running down the hallway to the turbolift, you notice lights flickering and it almost seemed as if you were lighter. The gravity regulators must have taken a hit. And as soon as you get to the end of the hallway, you also realize that the turbolift isn’t working anymore.

“Y/L/N to McCoy.”

“McCoy here. Where are you, Y/N?”

“I’m still on the engineering level. The turbolifts are out, I’m going to have to find another way up there.”

“Lieutenant,” Mr. Spock’s voice came over the air. “If you look to your immediate right, you will find an entrance to the service shaft that runs the length of the station parallel to the turbolifts. You should be able to climb the ladder and arrive on the bridge in no less than thirty minutes. I have opened the hatch onto the bridge to allow heat and a flow of fresh oxygen to fill the shaft. Please climb quickly. Time is of the essence.”

“Yes sir.” You respond, immediately finding the shaft and starting to climb.

“Dammit, can’t Enterprise just beam her over?” You hear Leonard ask Spock or Scotty.

“Nah, not until she’s up here. The hull plating on that level and in the turbo shafts are polarized to protect against radiation leakage from the engines. Beamin' in or out of there is impossible.” Scotty answers, his voice sounding just a stressed as everyone else.

“Why doesn’t everyone just go ahead and beam out? I’ll be there soon.” You huff out as you climb as fast as you can.

“When pigs fly, Y/N! There’s no way I’m leaving you.”

“It makes sense, Leonard. There’s no need to risk the safety of command officers for one lieutenant.”

“Lieutenant, you presence is invaluable to the Enterprise and to Dr. McCoy,” Spoke interrupted. “We have already returned all non-essential personnel to the ship, the doctor and I will remain and wait for you.”

“Now, shut up and climb, woman!” Leonard finished ever so eloquently.

Pulling yourself up rung-by-rung, legs burning, arms slowly turning to noodles, you thanked the stars for all the time spent climbing around Enterprise. At least you were in shape for climbing 20 floors worth of ladder. Just as you had gotten yourself into a steady, sustainable rhythm, another blast hit the station. You held on to the ladder rungs as your feet flew out from under you and the lights flickered off, leaving you in total darkness.


	4. The Romulans

Back on the Enterprise, Captain Kirk was furiously shouting commands.

“Uhura, get me the captain of that ship! I want to talk to him now! Sulu, put us between the Romulan ship and the station! Chekov, get the away team back here!”

“Romulan Captain is hailing us, Captain,” Uhura reported from her station.

“Put him on screen.” The screen blinking to the Romulan bridge and its Captain. “I’m Captain James Kirk of the Federation Starship Enterprise. You are violation of the Neutral Zone treaty. Why have you opened fire on a Federation space station in Federation space?” he demanded of the slightly green tinged man on the screen.

“I am Captain Ujan of the Romulan ship Vitile. That station is the property of the Romulan Empire and you have stolen it from our space. We demand that you release the station to us immediately and leave this area. We would rather destroy our station then let it fall into Federation hands.”

Kirk heard Uhura behind him relaying information to Spock, telling them to return to the ship. He turned to her and gestured for her to mute his conversation with the Romulan.

“What’s Spock saying?” he demanded.

“Most of the away team has returned safely. Spock and Dr. McCoy are waiting for Lieutenant Y/L/N to return from the Engineering deck and then they will beam over.”

Kirk nodded and turned in time to see the Romulan ship fire at the station again. Uhura unmuted the speakers in time for the Romulan captain to hear some very impressive swearing come from Kirk’s mouth.

“I will say again, Captain Kirk,” he said calmly. “Release the station to us and leave now.”

“That’s not happening, Captain Ujan. I have people on that station and if any of them are injured, I hold you personally responsible. Now, cease your fire or we will be forced to return fire without prejudice. And seeing as how you are currently violating the treaty and are in Federation space, I’m pretty sure that I will win this.”

“You aren’t prepared for battle, Captain Kirk.” Ujan called his bluff. Jim was actually a little surprised.

“Captain Ujan, do you have files on Starfleet ships and their captains?”

“Well,” Ujan stuttered. “We might.”

“Oh good,” Kirk said conversationally, returning to his chair in the middle of the bridge. “Have one of your officers search through the files that you might have for my ship and my name. Go ahead, I’ll wait.”

Captain Ujan signaled his communication officer to mute their end of the conversation. He gave a command to another officer and waited a moment. The officer found what he was looking for and ran to stand next to his captain with his back towards the screen. As Captain Ujan listened to the officer’s report, if a Romulan could go pale, he did.

After a nod to his communication officer, he faced the screen. “This is not over Captain Kirk. We will return and we will bring reinforcements.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Kirk replied, knowing his reputation was well documented by the enemies of the Federation. The communication link was severed and the Romulan ship turned and headed back toward the Neutral Zone and Romulan space. Kirk turned to Uhura.

“Status of the away team?”

“I lost communication with that last hit, Sir.” She shook her head, causing her long ponytail to sway.

“Keep trying.” He encouraged her with a small smile. Turning back to the screen, his eyes on the station, willing Spock, McCoy, and Y/N to be alright.

* * *

On the dark bridge of the station, Spock pulled himself up. The last blast from the Romulans had knocked out what little power they had left and threw him and Dr. McCoy to the floor. Rising to his feet, he pulled a groaning McCoy into a chair. A small trickle of blood dripped down the man’s head, but Spock could find no other injuries.

“Spock? What happened?” McCoy slowly raised his head.

“The Romulans must have fired another shot. They seem to have taken out power to most of the station. If you are stable, I will try to get lights on again.”

“I’m okay.” He put a hand to his head and pulled it back, examining the blood he found. He was going to have a doozy of a headache. “Oh God! Y/N!”

McCoy leapt from his chair, grabbed his flashlight, and ran to the open hatch that led to the turbo shaft Y/N had been climbing up. The Romulans hit the station hard enough to knock both men to the floor, what must it have done to the woman climbing the ladder!?

“Y/N! Y/N!” he yelled down into the shaft. “Answer me dammit! Y/N!!”

“Dr. McCoy,” Spock looked up from his tapping on the panel, “You need to prepare yourself for the possibility that-“

“Shut up, Spock, I think I hear something.”

Spock left the workstation and joined Leonard at the turboshaft hatch. A weak voice called from below.

“Leonard?”

“Y/N! Can you see my light?” He waved the light back and forth.

“I can see it but it’s far away. I don’t know how far I climbed before the lights went out.”

“Hold on, Y/N. I can’t see you, can you keep climbing?”

“I don’t think so, Leonard, I-I’m hurt. I can’t lift one of my arms, my shoulder is hurt.”

“Damn” McCoy muttered. “Hold on, I’m coming down to get you!”

“Dr. McCoy, I should be in the one to retrieve Lieutenant Y/L/N. I’m stronger than you and uninjured”

“Don’t even try it, Spock, you have to get these lights back on so we can see. I’ll be fine.” McCoy strapped his flashlight to his belt, upside down and still turned on so that the light shined down and climbed into the turboshaft and began climbing down to Y/N.

“I’m coming down for you,” he called. “Hang on, darlin’!”

“I’m trying, hurry please. I’m holding on with one hand but I got my feet back under me.”

McCoy climbed down as fast as he dared. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he fell. He glanced down, straining to see her in the darkness.

“Talk to me, sweetheart. I need to hear your voice so I don’t step on you.”

“Okay," you took a deep breath.  "Not sure what to say really. My shoulder hurts a lot but other than that, I think I’m okay. Just holding on. I see your light, but it’s still pretty far away.” You lapse into silence.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about when we get back the Enterprise?” Leonard called down, huffing as he climbed down.

“What?” You called back.

“Before the last blast, you said we needed to talk when we got back to the ship, what did you want to talk about?” You knew he was just trying to keep you talking.

“Oh, well, ummm. Well, if you must know, you were rude to me and I didn’t like it. You told me to forget my tools and get my ‘damn ass back to the damn bridge’ and I didn’t like you talking to me that way. Soulmate or not.” Your ears began to pick up the sounds of his boots on the rungs of the ladder and his breathing in the slight echo of the tube.

“Well, honey, I’m sorry that I was rude. I hate to admit it, but I was scared. I needed you to be safe and I knew that at that moment, you were far from safe. Ask Jim, I can get cranky when I worry about the people I care about.”

“Well, I care about you too, Leonard, but I don’t scream at you.” You heard him chuckle above you.

“Give it time, sweetheart. Everyone screams at me eventually. Again, ask Jim.” He replied dryly.

“You’re getting close, I think. I can hear your breathing more. Can you see me in the light yet?”

Leonard stopped and looked down. In the dim cast of his flashlight he was just able to make out a shape hanging off of the ladder.

“Yes! I think I see you. Hang on, darlin’, I’m almost there.”

“Good, my arm is getting tired.”

Leonard climbed down until he was a few rungs above you and stopped, trying to figure out the best way to do this. You were hanging on with one arm, the other hanging down by your side. Your feet were stable on the ladder, so that was good. Having formulated a quick plan, Leonard began to slowly climb down.

“Okay, Y/N, here’s what we are going to do. You scoot all the way over to the right on the ladder and I’m going to climb down on the left side. I’m going to get even with you and you are going to wrap your good arm around my neck and your legs around my waist.”

“Like a monkey?”

“Yes,” he chuckled at the thought. “Yes, like a monkey. Once you are secure, I’m going to climb us both back up to the bridge.”

“Okay. Go slow.”

You ease over on the ladder and Leonard climbs down even with you. He wraps an arm around your waist, holding you steady as you take your one good hand from the ladder and wrap it around his neck and hook your hand into his armpit, being careful not to strangle him. Once you are settled there and Leonard has grasped your arm wrapped around him for stability, you wrap first one and then the other leg around his waist.

“Okay, Leonard, I’m set.”

“Alright, hold on babe, I’m going to get us out of here.” And he released your arm and began to climb.

It took twice as long to get up as it took him to come down, and the strain of holding on to his moving body took most of your strength and climbing took his. Not much energy or breath was left for talking, so it was a silent climb. Reaching the bridge, Spock’s strong arms lifted you from Leonard’s back and onto the bridge, setting you gently on the floor. Leonard followed, immediately kneeling next you to examine your injured shoulder. He ran his hands gently from the top of your head down your legs to your ankles. 

“Doctor,” Spock said, “We need to return to the ship immediately.”

“Yes, we do.” He agreed. “Tell them to beam us directly to Sickbay.” The command was given and before your eyes completely closed, you see the blessed golden sparkles pulling you home to Enterprise.


	5. The Recovery

The golden sparkles of the transporter cleared to reveal the Medbay in full swing. From your position on the floor with Leonard still kneeing beside you, you can hear the bustle and see the legs of people rushing to you. In your dazed state, it seemed like chaos and completely unnecessary. You tried to tell that to Leonard and get yourself up, but he put his hand on your stomach, holding you on the floor. That’s when the pain hit. Your shoulder and elbow were in excruciating pain, so much so that a cry ripped through your lips and the room began to grow dark. The last sound you heard was Leonard yelling at someone to bring him a damn hypo.

The next time your eyes opened, Medbay was darker than normal. Whatever time it was, it was late. Your arm was wrapped to your chest, making it immobile. You realized that you were no longer in your uniform, but in clean surgical scrubs and someone had let your hair down. What should have been your free hand wasn’t free, another hand was holding it, a heavy, man-sized hand. Turning your head, you see Leonard sitting in a chair next to your bed, holding your hand. His chin rested on his chest as he lightly snored. You smiled, gave his hand a slight squeeze and fell back to blissful sleep.

Just as your eyes drift closed, Leonard’s opened. He could have sworn he felt you move but looking at you sleep, he thinks he must have dreamed it. Looking over your face, he marveled at how much he had grown to care for you so quickly. They say soulmates were supposed to have an immediate connection and every pair that he had seen certain displayed that connection, but not the two of you. He wondered if it would ever happen and what it would take to make it happen. His heart was ready to love you but he was afraid of pushing you too fast. You had doubts and he wanted you to have confidence in the relationship. As he drifted back to sleep with a smile on his face, he decided that he was patient; he would wait for you. And it would be worth it.

Opening your eyes the next time was easier and the Medbay was brightly lit. Leonard had left his chair and you were a little surprised that his absence disappointed you. You had wanted him to be there when you woke up. You turn your head and decide you are in exam room two, the same room you had originally met Leonard in. Your arm was still bound to your chest, your shoulder only hurt a little but your elbow throbbed. Looking down, you saw that every single one of your fingers on both hands were purple and swollen.

“That’s attractive.” You say out loud to yourself.

The opening door pulled you from your inspection and your heart jumped when Leonard walked in, looking freshly showered and shaved.

“Hey, darlin’! Welcome back.” He smiled as he walked to your bedside. His smile brightened the room… or you were on some very impressive drugs.

“What happened?” You ask when you can find your voice again. Leonard paused as he ran the tricorder over you and checked your vitals on the screen over your head.

“Do you remember that Romulans attacked the station?” he asked, bringing you a glass of water, holding the straw for you to drink.

“Yes. But I don’t remember why. And I don’t remember what my injuries were.” You gratefully sip the water.

“Okay, I’ll explain.” Putting the water in your good hand, he pulled the chair over to the side of your bed and sat down. “The Romulans wanted the station, we aren’t sure exactly why yet, Jim and Spock are working on that. Their last shot knocked the station completely out of position. From what I can guess, you were on the ladder and somehow managed to wrap your arm around a rung and held on. You held on tight enough for the blast to dislocate your shoulder and elbow.”

You wiggled your swollen fingers and raised an eyebrow.

“Your fingers aren’t dislocated, they are just strained.” He leaned forward and gently started rubbing your swollen digits resting on your chest. “I don’t know how you did it, darlin’, but you held on. If you had fallen, I don’t…” he sighed and shook his head, “I don’t think you would have survived the fall down the turboshaft.”

He looked back up at you and your eyes widened at the sight of his watery eyes.

“Hey,” you set the glass down and cover his hand with yours, “I’m here and I’ll be okay. You’ll take good care of me and I’ll be on my feet in no time!”

“You bet he’ll take good care of you!” Jim’s voice sounded from the doorway. Leonard turned his head quickly to dash away the tear that had fallen down his cheek.

“Captain,” you try to sit up but Jim held up his hand, stilling you.

“At ease, Y/N. I just came to check on my favorite pair. How are you feeling, Y/N?”

“I’ll be fine, Sir. Thank you.”

“Call me Jim, please.” He stepped forward and put a hand on Leonard’s shoulder. “Bones here has been driving us all crazy, I’m so glad you’re awake now.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Only about 10 hours,” Bones assured you.

“But 10 seconds is enough to make Bones worry.” Jim grinned at his friend. Bones mumbled something about getting you a hypo and removed himself from Jim’s razzing.

“You know,” Jim took Leonard’s seat, “I think he really likes you, Y/N. His reaction to your injuries was impressive, even for him.”

“What do you mean?” You would take any chance you got to learn more about the soulmate the universe had assigned you.

“Well, when one of the command staff gets injured, he gets grumpy. Scolding us under his breath about how stupid we are or how he’s getting too old for this. But with you, he was literally screaming at his staff. He has the best staff in the fleet and he knows it, but they couldn’t move fast enough for him. He even had to apologize for making Nurse Chapel cry!”

“He made Christine cry?!”

“Yep. Twice. I think that’s love, Y/N.” Jim smiled, pleased with himself for figuring it out.

“Jim, I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“Look, Y/N, I’m not asking you to feel something that you don’t. What I am asking you to give Bones a break. Cut him, and yourself, some slack. You’re soulmates for a reason and you could be great together and I only want the best for my crew. Happy crew, happy mission!”

“Really?” you laughed, feeling more comfortable around him by the minute. “’Happy crew, happy mission’? That’s your great motivational speech?”

“Hey, I’m famous for them!”

“Famous for what?” Leonard asked as he stepped back into the room, “Taking stupid risks? Yes, you are famous for that, Jim.”

You laughed when Jim looked affronted at the accusation. “Well, I know when I’m not wanted. I think I hear Spock calling me.” Jim stood, winked at you, and began to leave the exam room.

“Jim, wait, what happened to the station?” You called.

“Scotty was able to take a small crew back over after the Romulans left and stabilize its trajectory and life support systems. It’ll still be there when you’re up and about, don’t worry. I’m sure Scotty will be in here soon, he’s very anxious to get his best engineer back.” Jim winked at you and left.

“Leonard?” You asked as he stepped to your bed to administer the hypo in his hand.

“Yes?”

“You made Christine cry? You shouldn’t have done that.” You reprimanded gently.

He had the good grace to look ashamed. “Yes, I know. I apologized though. She said she understood.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I can’t give you a reason that would make sense, darlin’, except that you were unconscious and not waking up as fast as I wanted you to and the words just came out.”

You just stared at him. His face did have some worry lines on it but it was still incredibly handsome. His dark eyes pierced your eyes with an intensity that almost frightened you, but you liked it. A tiny bit of gray hair was beginning to show around his temples, it only added to his appeal. He gently pressed the hypo to your neck and massaged the site to lessen the sting. A tear slid down the side of your face as you looked at your soulmate.

“Hey, darlin’,” he gently swept the tear away. “Why the waterworks?”

“I was just thinking about you.”

“And that made you cry?”

“I just… Leonard, will you help me sit up so I can talk to you?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” He gently helped her into a sitting position, raising the head of the bed slowly.

“First, thank you for saving me. I don’t think I said that before.”

“Y/N,” he begins but you hold up your hand, silencing him.

“Please, let me get this out.” He nodded and sat down in his chair. “I’ve been thinking, and dreaming too I think, about you and me, us. And I think we need to make a change in our… relationship I guess you could call it. I don’t really know how to say this.”

“Let me help you, darlin’.” He stood and carefully took your hand and kept his eyes cast down on your clasped hands. “Are you done with me?”

“No! Oh god no, just the opposite! I don’t want to be done, I want to move forward, just slowly.”

Leonard let out a breath and although his eyes were still trained on your hands, his lips lifted in an uncertain smile. He slowly took a shaky breath and raised his eyes to meet yours.

“Any conditions, darlin’?”

“Yes, just one. If at any time either of us wants out, the other will let them go, no questions asked.”

“Y/N,” Leonard’s gaze didn’t waver from your eyes. “You drive a hard bargain. I can’t promise that if you want to leave that I won’t beg you to stay, but if you do make that choice, I will try to understand. That’s the best I can do.”

“Leonard, that’s all I can ask for. And if you decide to leave me, I can’t promise I won’t cry, but I will try to understand and honor your wishes.”

“Then darlin’,” Leonard grinned and gently kissed your swollen knuckles sending a shiver down your body. “Lets get this relationship started!”


	6. The Interlude

Being in a relationship with Leonard McCoy is an odd mixture of expectations being fully met and surprises around every other corner. You expect him to being very involved in your recovery, but are surprised when he randomly calls you during the day, mostly while you’re in Jefferies tubes, just to check on you and hear your voice. He says he loves the sound of your voice, he says it calms him. You can only guess that he’s telling the truth because his voice does the same for you. Whether this is a byproduct of being soulmates or a natural reaction to choosing to be in a relationship with him, you aren’t really sure. It doesn't really matter.

You expect, being in a relationship with the CMO of a ship as large as the Enterprise, that he would be very busy almost all the time and work late most nights. And sometimes he does. But more often than not, he’s waiting for you when you get back to your quarters with dinner. You gave him the code for your door when he helped you back after releasing you from Medbay. If he really wanted to get in, he could just use his medical override code anyway. It seemed a small thing and you reaped the benefits of not having to think about evening meals and enjoying time with him. After just a week of this treatment, you find yourself looking forward to seeing him at the end of the day. He always greets you with a full hug. He hasn’t tried to kiss you yet, but you’re not sure you’re ready anyway. You love the feeling of his arms around you though, keeping you safe and warm.

After a particularly long day, you comm’d him to ask him to meet you in the Medbay. He sounded surprised and concerned and told you he would be there. He meets you at the door and hardly lets you get a word out before ushering you into his office and closes the door.

“What is it, darlin’? What’s wrong?” He asks urgently, running his hands over your head and arms looking for any new injuries.

“Leonard calm down,” you say softly and smile to get him to focus on your face and your words instead of his worries. “My shoulder aches a little and I have a small migraine, if there is such an thing. I just wanted to meet you here first and then let you take me back to my quarters rather than the other way around.”

“Alright, sweetheart,” his hand cupped your cheek. “Get comfortable on the couch and I’ll be right back.” He dimmed the lights as he stepped out the door.

You lay on the couch on your good side. Your shoulder is still sore so you avoid laying on it. Your migraine isn’t as bad as the one you had when you first met Leonard, but it was heading that way. Leonard returned quickly with a hypo and a cold pack. He gently laid the cold pack on your head and administered the pain reliever to your neck. He gently rubbed your back until the medication began to take effect.

“Getting better?” he asked softly.

“Yes, I think so. Will you help me back to my quarters? Your couch is lumpy.”

“Of course, Y/N.” He chuckled, making his chest reverberate with the deep sound. You decided that you liked that sound a lot and found it very comforting. Taking your hand and wrapping your good arm around his shoulders, he wrapped his arm around your waist and slowly guided you to the turbolift. Once inside, he gave instructions on be taken to the correct deck and you simply lean on his chest. His arms wrap around you, holding you close, gently stroking your head, his cheek resting on top of it.

Once inside your quarters, he sat you on your bed and then busied himself lowering the lights and finding your pajamas.

“Do you need help changing, sweetheart?” He asks.

“I think I can handle it.” You grab your clothes and head into the bathroom. It takes a little longer than normal because the medication is making you very tired, but you manage to shed your uniform and climb into pajamas and brush your teeth without incident. Coming back into your bedroom, you find that Leonard has turned down the bed and it sounds like he’s getting you a glass of water. You lay down and close your eyes.

“Wait a second, darlin’. You need to drink this before you go to the sleep. The hydration will help with the headache.” He brings a straw to your lips and you take a sip. “All of it please.” You sigh and drain the glass and lay back down.

“Leonard?” You begin, your eyes closed already, as he pulls the blanket up around you. “Will you stay with me for a little while?”

He paused, surprised at your request. “Sure, Y/N. I would love to.” He replied gently. Pulling his boots off, he lays down on top of the blanket and pulls you to his chest. As one hand gently rubs your back, the other slowly reaches up and releases the pins holding your hair in place. Your hair falls over his hand as his fingertips massage your scalp. You let out a satisfied hum and listen to his heart beating. His strong arms wrap around you and as you drift off to sleep, you feel his lips press against your forehead, marking you with a gentle kiss. 

* * *

 

The next morning you wake up alone. You don't know when Leonard left your bed, but you were almost relieved to be alone… almost. You’ve never woken up with a man before and you aren’t ready for the awkwardness that you’re sure will happen. The more time you spend with Leonard, the more you’re sure that you want to choose him and not let the soulmate tattoos make the decision for you. But telling him might be difficult and you aren’t sure how to do it. And will he choose you back? There was always the possibility that he won’t. You both agreed to let the other go if they wanted. You wonder if that’s going to bite you in the butt one day.

Getting dressed for work, you are careful of your shoulder. It still aches from time to time, but you are pleased that you don’t have a migraine this morning or a hangover from yesterday’s migraine. Today you were heading back over to the station to complete the repairs on the engines so that it can be towed back to a larger station for complete retrofitting and repairs.

On you way to Engineering, you enter the turbolift only to find Leonard already on it.

“Good morning, sugar. How are you feeling?” he smiled.

“Morning, Leonard. I’m fine thank you. And thank you for taking care of me last night.” You side up to him, bumping shoulders, wanting to be close. He takes advantage of being alone in the lift to wrap his arms around your waist.

“That was my pleasure, honey. What do you have planned for today?” he cupped your cheek and ran his thumb across your cheekbone. Such an intense gaze for an every-day conversation, but you weren’t complaining.

“Scotty and I are heading back over to the station to finish the repairs and get it ready for towing. Shouldn’t be anything too serious, just some minor repairs and final preparations.”

“Why do you always have to be the one Scotty takes?” Leonard complained lightly, a small smile letting you know he was only half serious.

“Because I’m the best he’s got.” You are ever so humble about your skills.

“Why yes, I believe you probably are. Have dinner with me tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Good. Meet me in my quarters at 8. I have a surprise for you too.” He winked as the turbolift reached its destination and the doors opened. He gave you a final squeeze and walked towards the door.

“Have fun on the station, darlin’. Be careful. See you tonight.” He waved.

“See you later.” You called, somewhat lamely. One of these days you were going to stop being so awkward but apparently not today.

Reaching Engineering, you find Scotty ready to go, tools already packed. You head to the transporter room and beam over to the station. It should only take about 3 hours to get the station ready to go. 


	7. The Attack

On the station, you and Scotty were about to finish the final repairs on the engines and get everything ready for the station to be towed. Crews had already come in and reinforced any weak bulkheads that might collapse during transit. The engine needed to be running enough to keep the station stable, while still allowing it to move freely. It took a little longer than expected but everything was finally in order and Scotty was packing up. You had one more conduit to check in the final Jefferies tube and then you were both done.

“I’m going to head back to the Enterprise, lass.” Scotty called through the tubes.

“Alright, I’ll be five minutes behind you.” You reply, your voice echoing slightly through the metal tube.

“Should I wait for ya?”

“No, that’s okay. Five minutes, I promise.” Scotty could be such a worrier sometimes; you already had Leonard to worry over you, you didn’t need another ship-mother.

You secure the final conduit, everything checks out and you begin climbing down. It was peaceful, no noise in the station except the hum of the engines and your own breathing. You love serving on the Enterprise but sometimes all the people on her can be overwhelming. Reaching the turbolift, you head up the bridge so that you can beam out. It was a wise precaution to polarize the hull plating on the station in every wall below the bridge, but it prevented beaming out from anyplace other than the bridge, and that was… inconvenient.

Reaching the bridge you are about to call over to the Enterprise to request a beam out, when through the huge windows, you see three Romulan ships drop out of warp and immediately open fire on the Enterprise. Each ship fired two bursts of phaser blasts at the Enterprise.

“Y/L/N to Enterprise!”

“Lassie, we’re taking fire. Transporters are down, I can’t bring you back right now!” Scotty’s voice yelled over the speakers. “Get back down engineering and find a safe place to lay low! Y/N, I don't-“

The communication was cut off, possibly by more systems going down on the ship. You should be there! You can help! Pacing helplessly on the bridge, you watch as the three ships take up defensive positions around the station. Scotty’s orders screamed through your mind and you run from the bridge and take the lift back down to engineering, but not before grabbing the earpiece from the communication officer’s station. It might come in handy to have hands free communication while hiding. Just as you arrive on the engineering deck, your comm beeps again.

“Y/L/N here.” You say tentatively, putting the earpiece into your ear and tucking your communicator into the collar of your shirt, not sure who is going to answer.

“Y/N! Thank God, where are you?” Leonard’s voice comes through and relief washed over you.

“Leonard! I’m still on the station. Scotty said the transporters are down. I’m in engineering, he told me to lay low.” You begin heading for the entrance to the nearest Jefferies tube.

“Good idea sweetheart, I don’t know what’s going on but Medbay is about to be flooded I’m sure. Get in one of those damned tubes and stay safe.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. Nothing’s happening over here right now.” Just as those words came out, you hear a noise in main engineering. “Leonard,” you whisper now. “I think someone is here.”

“Get in that tube and stay hidden, darlin’! I’ll let Jim know what’s going on and contact you.”

“Okay.” You crawl further back into the tube.

“Y/N?”

“Yes?”

“Please stay safe. I don’t know what I would do if… just stay safe.”

“I plan on it, Leonard. You be safe too. I’m just getting used to you, I don’t want to go back to life without you.”

“Well put, darlin’. I’ll be in touch.” The comm went dead. Now, you need a plan. If the Romulans have beamed over to the station, this would be an excellent opportunity to find out why they are so interested in the station. Before you can make a decision to spy or stay hidden, your communicator beeps again.

“Kirk to Y/L/N.”

“I’m here, Captain.”

“Are you safe?”

“Yes, Sir. I believe so.”

“Can you confirm the Romulans are on the station?”

“I didn’t actually see them Sir, I just heard noises. It could be my imagination.”

After a brief pause, Jim responds, “Bones says you’re not prone to fits of imagination, if you heard something, we believe you.”

“Yes, Sir. What do you want me to do?”

Jim sighed and his voice softens, “We are sitting ducks right now, Y/N. Scotty is working as fast as he can. The Romulans have stopped firing and are just sitting there. If there are Romulans on that station, I want to know what they want.”

“Yes, Sir. I hear you loud and clear.”

“Jim, she’s an engineer not a spy!” You hear the fear in Leonard’s voice and try to calm it.

“Leonard, I promise to be careful, they will never know I’m here. Because I’m an engineer, I can go places on this station that they don’t even know exist! Trust me, Leonard, I’ll be okay.”

“Damn it, Y/N, you had better be!” Now there was just anger in Leonard’s voice, but it wasn’t directed at you. You could just see the looks he was no doubt giving Jim right now.

“Y/N, you have your orders.” Jim took back the conversation. “Stay hidden but gather as much intel as possible. Stay in contact with us, Uhura will monitor this frequency. As soon as the transporters are operational, we will need you to get to the bridge for immediate beam out.”

“Understood, Captain.” You began making your way to another tube that had a hatch that opened above main engineering.

“Y/N?” Leonard’s voice went from angry to afraid in the space of your name. “Please be careful, darlin’.”

“I will Leonard. I promise I will. I want to come back to you. I'll stay in touch but I need my hands free for a little while. I'll contact Uhura when I'm in position.” You crawled through the tube until you reached the hatch above main engineering. Opening it a crack, you peak down to see four Romulans at a computer terminal. They seemed to be arguing over something that they had found in the computer. Wishing you understood Romulan, you dared to open the hatch a fraction more to hear better and as you did, an idea struck.

Carefully closing the hatch again and tapping your earpiece, you whisper, “Uhura, you there?”

“I’m here, Y/N” she whispers back just in case, not wanting to give away your position.

“I have the communication officer’s earpiece in so you can talk at normal level. Tell the Captain that I see four Romulans in Engineering. I’m going to try to get under them and let you listen in and find out what they are saying. Okay?”

“Great plan, Y/N! Stay safe and open the channel when you are in position.”

“Will do. Y/N out.”

Crawling back the way you came, you shimmy down the tube until you reach the furthest point from the Romulans while still being in engineering. You silently leave the tubes and lift the deck plating, thankful that there is just enough room for you to lay on your back and scoot to be under the Romulan’s feet. Once there, you tap your communicator to open the channel, but don’t say anything for fear of being heard.

Looking up through the grates of the deck plates, you can see the bottoms of their heavily booted feet right above your face. Hardly even daring to breath, you lay there as long as your nerves will allow. Thankfully, Nyota’s soft voice comes to your ear after a couple minutes.

“I think I have the gist of it now, Y/N. Move to a safer place before Dr. McCoy has a heart attack.” You nod even though no one can see you. You figured Nyota would be relaying your plan to Jim, but it didn’t surprise you that Leonard would be nearby to listen in as well. Somehow knowing he was there and possibly listening was a comfort. You make your way back to the safety of the Jefferies tube and crawl silently until you reach a safe distance to speak.

“What did you find out Nyota?” You huff, out of breath from the shimming, climbing, and not breathing very much while under the Romulan’s feet.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Leonard’s voice comes into your ear. “You sound winded.”

“I’m fine Leonard. What did you find out?”

“They are looking for a specific set of scans,” Jim’s voice takes over, strong and authoritative. “Apparently they think the station was put there to spy on them and they think it has scans of a fleet the Romulans are beginning to build.”

“Beginning to build?” You keep moving through the tubes toward the turbo shaft, ready to get out of there the instant Scotty has the transporters working.

“Yeah, they only have one ship completed. They were arguing about whether or not any more ships would actually be built.”

“Huh, apparently not everyone in the Romulan Empire is as confident as they sound.” You think out loud. “How’s Scotty coming on the transporters?”

“He’s close, get yourself to the bridge for beam out.” Jim ordered. “And be careful, Bones will wring my neck if you aren’t back soon.”

“Aye, Captain. I’m almost to the turbolift. I should be on the bridge in less than 5 minutes.”

Finally reaching the end of the tube, you open the hatch and carefully drop to the deck, still being quiet. You put your back to the wall, eyes trained down the hall, watching for Romulan soldiers as you wait for the lift. At the same time you realize that you shouldn’t have to _wait_ for the lift, it should have been right where the Romulans left it when they got to Engineering. You turn to face the doors just as they open and three angry looking Romulans step out, nose to nose with you.


	8. The Hostage

The three Romulans "escorted" you back to Engineering, which meant a lot pushing, shoving, yelling, and general unpleasantness. Through a few grunts and pointing, they managed to get you to the workstation where the four others where still standing. You knew they wanted you to help them search for the mysterious "hidden scan" of their progress in building a fleet of ships, but playing dumb had always been a skill of yours. They pointed to the screen, yelling at you in Romulan as if talking louder would make you understand. You simply shrugged and pulled up schematics of the station or scans of the nearby planets. The big one, the enforcer but not the one in charge, finally got frustrated and pushed your face into the bulkhead, busting your lip open and causing your eyelid to immediately begin to swell. He kicked your feet out from under you.

On the floor, your face bleeding and you shoulder aching from hitting the floor, you are finally able to tap your comm link and let Uhura listen in. The Romulans hadn’t yet noticed the earpiece in your ear. You thanked its maker for the low, nearly invisible profile; Uhura’s sticks out of her head like a sore thumb.

“Y/N?” Uhura’s voice sounded like an angel in your ear. “I hear what they’re saying very loudly, just how close are you to them?”

Instead of answering Uhura directly, you speak to the Romulans, not knowing if they can understand you or not but not willing to risk it. You tried to be as obvious as possible so that Uhura could relay your situation. Leonard was going to completely loose any chill he might have obtained since your last conversation.

“I don't know what the _seven_ of you want from me. There’s not much I can do from _here in Engineering_ though. If you want me to help you _search for something_ , I have to be on the _bridge_ to do it.” You carefully stand, hands raised in surrender, and hear Uhura gasp as she understood your situation.

“Y/N, I hear you loud and clear. The Captain and Dr. McCoy can hear too. Keep talking.” Talking, that was something you absolutely could do. The seven Romulans simply stood and stared at you. The big one was still seething, you needed to avoid him at all costs.

“Y/N,” Jim’s voice comes on strong and commanding. “Listen carefully, the transporters are ready, the instant you step onto the bridge, Scotty will beam you out. All you have to do is get to the bridge.” This was no time for rolling your eyes, but at least you and the Captain were on the save wavelength.

“Like I said,” you continued, stepping a little closer to the smallest of the group, hoping he was a compassionate leader. “ _Smacking me around_ and pointing at the screen isn’t going to help me understand you. I need to be on the _bridge_ to help you.”

“Damn it, Y/N!” Bones’ voice in your ear almost made you sob. “How badly are you injured?”

Keeping your composure with the Romulans, you kept up your chatter, “Now, you haven’t hurt me badly, just a busted lip and probably a black eye from pushing me into the bulkhead, but if you kill me, you’re going to start a war with the Federation and I’m not sure you’re prepared for that. So let’s just act civilly, I will try to help you, and we can all go our separate ways. How does that sound?”

The Big Guy stepped forward, weapon in hand. He said something slowly in Romulan and raised his weapon, aiming for you chest. Five stood back to give him room, but the smallest one stepped forward to speak with Big Guy. Big Guy roughly pushed you to turn around so that you faced the bulkhead. You felt his weapon solidly on the back of your head while a conversation went on behind your back.

“They are trying to decide what to do with you.” Uhura’s voice explained in your ear. “They don’t understand much of what you are saying, but they do understand where you want to go. They are debating on whether you want to go there to help or to escape, they know the bridge is the only beam out point.”

A rough hand turned you back around and in turning, Big Guy noticed the earpiece and unceremoniously ranked it from your ear. He finally took a good look at you and pulled your communicator out from under your collar, throwing both on the floor and crushing them with his huge boot. Well, there goes that part of the plan. He yelled angrily and backhanded you back onto the floor. The room spun as you were roughly picked up and dragged through the corridor to the turbo lift. All eight of you wouldn’t fit, so Little Guy took four up first and left you with Big Guy and his buddy.

As soon as the lift doors closed on the five, Big Guy’s foot swept yours out from under you, causing you to hit your head on the deck hard. Before you could take a breath, a large booted foot kicked you in the stomach twice. Doubled over in pain, seeing stars, and not able to take a breath, you found yourself retreating into your mind. The last thing you saw through swollen eyes was a fist flying toward your face. The rest was blackness.

Rough hands under your arms woke you. You had only been out for a minute because you opened your one good eye to see that Big Guy and his friend were dragging you into the turbolift. They managed to shake you awake enough to stand on your feet. Leaning against the wall, you waited for the lift to arrive on the bridge and the doors to open, knowing that that would mean an instant beam out to safety. The thought of being in Leonard’s arms drove you to take the next steps. The doors opened and you were pushed out of the lift. The leader stood directly in front of the doors and as you stepped out, you felt the stirring in your stomach of the transporter beginning to pull you. At the last moment, something on his belt caught your eye and you shot a hand out and grabbed a small cylindrical device as a strong hand wrapped around your arm and the bridge dissolved into golden sparkles.

The sparkles dissipated to reveal the transporter room and a a huge arm wrapped around your neck. Big Guy tagged along for the ride. A lot of shouting immediately ensued as two security officers raised phase rifles and took aim but Big Guy pulled you to his chest, using you as a shield, his weapon at your head. Bones and Jim burst into the transporter room and skid to halt seeing the situation.

More yelling, Jim and Bones joined in the cacophony of voices. Bones’ eyes met yours and you see his desperation. Needing the end this, you gather the rest of your strength and slam your elbow into what you hope are his ribs, causing him to turn slightly and stumble just enough for one of the security officers to open fire and stun him into unconsciousness. Your knees gave out and you fell to the transporter pad. Bones ran over and the sound of a tricorder had never been more comforting.

“Y/N? Stay awake, darlin’, stay with me.” He called for a stretcher to take you to the Medbay. Jim and the security officers picked up the unconscious Romulan and began to drag him off as well.

“Who the hell is that?” Bones asked anyone who was listening.

“He followed me home, Leonard,” you mumble as darkness closed in around you. “Can I keep him?”


	9. The Bridge

You woke in Medbay to the incessant beeping of the biobed. You started to sit up but the pain on your side demanded that you stop, causing you to hiss and wrap your arm around your middle. Nurse Chapel immediately appeared by your side.

“Whoa, Y/N, you need to lay down.” she said, gently pushing you back down.

“Where’s Leonard?” you hissed out, needing to see him like you needed to breathe. You didn't even question that need anymore. It just was.

“He’s on the bridge, the Captain called him there as soon as he got you stabilized. But you need to lay back down, you have three broken ribs and Dr. McCoy will kill me if you go anywhere.” Christene didn't want to get yelled at again. 

“I’m sorry, Chris, I need to get to him. Now. Please help me up.” you beg.

“He’s going to have my ass court-martialed.” Chris sighed but still helped you stand and got you out of Medbay to the turbolift. Once you were standing in the turbolift, you sent her back to Medbay, the less trouble you got her in the better.

The ride from Medbay to the bridge took years. You could only take shallow breaths; the pain from the broken ribs was too much to take deep ones. Your head was spinning, but as the doors opened, you still managed to step out on your own. Uhura was the first to see you enter the bridge. She slipped your arm over her shoulders and her arm gently around your middle, basically holding you up while you took in what was happening.

A Romulan face took up a majority of the huge screen. He looked deadly. 

“It is most regrettable what has happened, Captain Kirk.” He was saying, a patronizing tone in his voice. "I would like to see about the return of my first officer."

“It is quite regrettable, Captain Ujan. Unfortunately we are not in a position to return your officer as he is being treated for wounds in our Medbay.” Captain Kirk stood in front of his chair, Leonard next to him. Both men had their arms crossed over their chests, seemingly completely at ease with the situation but you knew better. Everything was calculated. 

“What are his injuries, if I may ask?” Ujan’s lip curled just a little bit and his eye narrowed. 

“He has a broken rib and was hit with a phase rifle set to stun.” Leonard explained. “He hasn’t regained consciousness yet but I have treated his broken rib.”

“And how did his rib come to be broken?” Ujan looked more lethal as the conversation continued.

“He used one my crewmen as a human shield and she didn’t like that.” Kirk smirked. 

“She?” Ujan’s left eyebrow rose incredulously.

“Yes,” you answer loudly. “SHE.”

“Christ, Y/N, what are you doing out of bed?” Leonard rushed to the other side of you, helping Uhura hold you upright. As soon as he touched you, calm flooded your system. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you needed him. Maybe one day you would know definitively if you needed him because he was your soulmate or if you needed him because you chose him.

Who is the female who bested my first officer?” Ujan’s voice broke through your thoughts. Kirk motioned you and Leonard forward. Leaning on his strong arm around your waist, you step up next to Kirk.

“This is Lieutenant Y/L/N, one of my best engineers.” Kirk introduced you to Ujan.

“An engineer?! Not even a tactical officer?” Ujan’s shock made your nerves bristle. Stupid male ego. “A female engineer bested my own first officer.” He said mostly to himself, still trying to process the truth staring him down.

Just as your mouth opened to let out a scathing remark, your knees buckled and Leonard cursed as he picked you up bridal style and looked at Jim, “We’ll be in Medbay.”

“What were you thinking, Y/N? If you had fallen, you could have been seriously injured. I’m going to court martial Chapel.” Leonard ranted once the turbolift doors closed behind you, still holding you in his arms.

“No, you leave Chris alone, Leonard.” You try to breathe but can only get a shallow wheezing breath. “I just... I needed to be near you, Leonard. I’m not sure why, I just couldn’t stay in that bed.”

“Alright, darlin’," he softened.  "Don’t get worked up until I get a chance to work on your ribs, that will make breathing easier.” He gently held you closer to his chest, you rested your head on his shoulders and felt his lips sweetly press against your forehead.

Arriving back in the Medbay, he thew Christene a glare when he walked through the doors, but didn’t yell at her. He gently placed you back on your bed, and fiddled with the controls until you were at a comfortable incline.

“Is that better?” he asked, concern written over his features.

“Yes, I think so, still hurts though.” You wheezed.

“I know, hold on, darlin’. I’ll get you something for the pain.” He turned and opened his mouth to yell for Chris, but she was already standing behind him with a tray of hypos he would have ask her for. “Oh, thanks.” He said gruffly, taking a hypo from the tray.

He placed it gently on your neck and administered the meds with a sting, which he quickly massaged away. You sighed as the pain ebbed away and your eyes drifted closed. 

"Rest now, darlin'," Leonard said, sweeping your hair off of your forehead. "I'm going to work on repairing your ribs and you'll be good as new when you wake up."

"Leonard," you whisper.

"Yes, honey?"

"Thank you." you manage to get out before sleep takes you.

"Always, Y/N. Always."


	10. The Escape

“BATTLESTATIONS! All crew to battle stations.”

Jim’s voice rang throughout the ship as people were thrown against the walls like ragdolls with each blast. It was a hell of a way to wake up. You bolted upright, still in Medbay.

"Darlin'," Leonard said, still next to you. "I need you to stay here while I get Medbay ready for whatever's happening."

Leonard turned away quickly, not waiting for your answer. As another blast rocked the ship sideways, you knew you needed to be working. As slowly as you could amidst the people running back and forth, you stood testing your pain levels from the broken ribs. It was manageable thanks to Leonard’s work. And you were, thankfully, dressed in scrubs instead that infernal hospital gown with the open back. All this technology and they can't manage to invent a better hospital gown!

Sticking your head out the door, you made sure that Leonard was fully occupied so that he couldn’t stop you from leaving. He was running around and completely focused on everything other than you. Perfect. You slipped out of Medbay unstopped. Getting to engineering while the ship rocked back and forth was no easy task, but you continued taking shallow breaths and the pain reliever was working wonders.

“What are you doing here, lass?” Upon entering Engineering, you found Scotty throwing tools in a toolbox. Finally, the ship stopped jerking back and forth. The Romulans must have ceased firing.

“I’m here to help. You know you need me, Scotty!” You yelled over the noise of shouting as engineers ran all over the place fixing things. A loud hiss coming from the warp core broke any argument that Scotty could have voiced.

“Aye, come on then.” He turned and ran in the direction of the core, pulling his communicator from his pocket. “Scotty to the bridge. I don’t know how much more she can take, Captain! Warp drive is down, we’re at impulse only until Y/N and I can get this thing fixed.”

“Understood, Scotty. Get working fast; we need to get out of here! Hey, did you say Y/N was down there?! Shouldn’t she be in the Medbay?”

“Aye, she should but now I need her here. Inform Dr. McCoy if you get a chance so he won’t worry. Scott out.” He turned back to you and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, lass, Dr. McCoy’s going to explode but at least you can help me keep the core from doing the same thing.”

“I’ll handle Leonard,” you replied, although you had no idea how. “Now lets get to work before my pain meds wear off!”

Working beside Scotty was always as natural as breathing. Very little communication was needed as you both worked to stop the leakage from the core and get warp speed back online. It took nearly two hours of fast and furious work, but the core powered back up and warp speed was restored. Scotty comm’d the bridge and the core purred like a kitten as Sulu punched it to warp 4 and moved Enterprise to a safe position, apparently leaving three damaged Romulan ships licking their wounds.

“Now, lass,” Scotty wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “Lets get you back to Medbay before Dr. McCoy comes looking for you.”

“Too late.” A deep, angry voice sounded from behind you. Leonard. Turning with what you hoped was a sweet enough smile to soften his anger, you saw that he looked as ragged as you felt. A small cut on his forehead left dried blood in a smear across his head. His hands set on his hips in a stance that dared you to speak an excuse.

“Um. Hi, honey,” you tried to smile into his hazel eyes. You should have turned slower because a wave of dizziness racked through your head.

“’Hi honey’? Do you think that’s cute?” he retorted.

“Ummm, yes?” You tried again to smile but your pain reliever was wearing off and breathing was once again a struggle. Leonard noticed your smile turn to grimace and reached for you just as a second wave of dizziness caught you and your knees gave out and you fell into his strong arms.

“Damn it, woman,” he muttered as he lifted you and headed toward the Medbay. The last thing you saw before you passed out was Scotty's concerned face as he trailed behind you.

* * *

 

You regained consciousness back on the biobed and Medbay was quiet. A light snore pulled your attention to your left where Leonard sat in a chair, his chest resting on his chest  and his arms crossed as he slept.

“Leonard,” you whispered. He snored a little more.

“Leonard,” you tried a little louder. No response.

“Leonard,” you finally spoke loudly. He jerked awake and jumped to his feet.

“Y/N! You’re awake!” he grabbed a tricorder and began scanning you. “How do you feel? Are you in any pain?”

“Leonard-“ you tried to interrupt.

“You shouldn’t have left Medbay,” he began to lecture as he put the tricorder to the side.

“Leonard-“ you try again.

“Now, you listen to me, I’m trying to take care of you and heal you from your blasted heroism. You and Jim are going to be the death of me, I swear!”

“LEONARD!” You yell, wincing at the pain in your side.

“What?” he asked gruffly.

“I have to pee,” you said in a small voice.

“Oh, well, okay. Let me help you get up.” He gently helped you get off the high bed, making sure your feet were solidly under you before letting you take a step. After relieving yourself in the nearby bathroom, you step out and find him leaning against the wall caught in a huge yawn.

“Leonard, you should go get some sleep in your own bed,” you chide him as he turns to you.

“I’m not leaving you, darlin’.” He replied, his voice gravely but soft.

“I’ll probably be fine,” you teased, “I have a decent doctor who seems to have done a good job.”

“Decent, huh?” he grinned. “Well, this doctor is exhausted but needs to stay near his patient.”

“So you won’t go sleep?”

“That’s not what I said,” he grabbed your hand and gently tucked you under his arm. “Lets take a walk, honey.”

“A walk? Seriously?”

“Yep.” Leonard led you out of the Medbay and down the hall a short way and stopped in front of a door. He put in his code and the door opened to reveal a small room holding only a queen-sized bed and a door that you assumed led to a bathroom.

“What’s this room?” You asked as he led you towards the bed.

“It’s for the CMO to sleep near the Medbay when necessary. I rarely use it but I want to stay close by in case something else happens.” He pulled off his boots and sat down on the bed, pulling you with him. Sitting side by side, he smiled and gently ran his fingers through your hair, which had at some point been let out of its customary bun.

“I love your hair, Y/N,” he whispered. He scooted back on the bed and lay down on his side, gently pulling you down in front of him. Using one of his arms as a pillow, you got comfortable being the little spoon as his other hand rested on your hip. In moments, his breathing evened out.

“I love you, Leonard.” You whisper, thinking him asleep. A soft, deep chuckle proved you wrong as his lips touched the back of your head.

“I love you too, Y/N.” he replied.


	11. The Plan

You woke up on your back staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling with an unfamiliar weight across your hips. Looking left, you saw the sleeping face of Dr. Leonard McCoy. He was on his side, facing you, one arm was under his head and the other was the weight across your hips. Just as you thought how peaceful and serene he looked sleeping, his lips cracked open and a loud snort sounded through out the room and probably echoed down the hallway. You didn’t even try to suppress your giggles as he slowly opened his eyes and blinked at you.

“You snore, Y/N,” he grumbled.

“That wasn’t me, I was already awake!” you replied, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. His response was to pull you closer and snuggle into your shoulder, mumbling something about letting a man get some damn sleep. Chuckling, you leaned in slightly to kiss his dark head.

“Care to try that again?” he asked, turning his head and bringing his lips nearer to yours. “You seem to have missed.”

“I missed?” You raise your eyebrows. “I hit exactly what I was aiming for, Dr. McCoy.”

“Well, let me try, I never miss what I aim for.” He retorted as he covered your lips with his in a gentle kiss. Your hand made its way to the back of his head as his made their way up your body and into your hair.

“Good morning,” he growled, coming up for air.

“Morning.” You smiled into his hazel eyes.

“I gotta admit, I could really get used to waking up like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like… waking up to you.”

“I could too, Leonard.” He was just about to draw you back into his kiss when a very annoying beep sounded in the room and Jim’s voice worked its way into your moment.

“Dr. McCoy and Lieutenant Y/L/N to the bridge please.”

“We’ll have to pick this up later, Y/N.” Leonard sighed, giving you one last chaste kiss before getting out of bed and stepping into the small bathroom to freshen up.

Laying there, waiting for your turn, you marvel at how far you’ve come in so short a time. When Leonard first discovered that you were soul mates, you were beyond skeptical. You didn’t know if you wanted the universe dictating your future biased on some possibly arbitrary symbol-on-skin system. You were never one to just go with the flow anyway. At first, if anyone were going to be your soul mate, you would have guessed Scotty. You worked seamlessly together. But the more time you and Leonard spent together, the more you actually wanted to spend with him. The tattoo you both share, which Leonard called a sinus rhythm, may have brought you together, but it’s not going to keep you together. Only choosing to stay together will keep you together. And you had already made your choice and you were pretty sure he had too.

“Your turn, darlin’” Leonard said as he exited the bathroom. He stood by the bed, ready to help you get up. Your ribs were still sore and you were still taking shallow breaths to avoid any possible pain, even though Leonard had given you pain killers. In the bathroom you relieve you full bladder and wash up a bit. You combed your fingers through your long hair and looked for something to pull it back with. Leonard was pulling his boots on as you come back into the bedroom.

“Leonard, do you know what happened to my hair tie?”

“Oh, yeah” he replied, pulling the elastic circle from his wrist. “Sorry, I forgot I had it.”

“No problem.” You smiled. Taking the hair tie, you pile your hair on top of your head and wrap the tie around the large bun. He looked so adorable with your hair tie around his wrist, you almost gave it back to him instead.

“Ready to go?” he asked as he stood.

“Yep, ready.” The walk from the small bedroom to the turbolift was short. But walking hand in hand with Leonard, any walk was going to feel too short. As you arrived on the bridge, Jim stood from his chair and gestured you both over to Spock’s station for a quiet conversation.

“The Romulans want their man back and I certainly don’t want another incident. Scotty will murder me in my sleep if I get us into another fight right now. The Farragut and the Lexington are on their way to our coordinates now. They will be here in about 3 hours. We have that much time to salvage what we can of the station and stall the Romulans before we have to hand over their officer. Starfleet has ordered us to link with the station, download all its data, and then destroy it.”

“Destroy it?” Leonard scoffed. “I thought the original plan was the save the blasted thing.”

“It was,” Jim agreed. “But Starfleet feels this is an acceptable loss compared to possibly starting war with the Romulans.”

“This might still piss them off enough to go to war,” you added softly, still intimidated by being surrounded by so many command officers.

“Yes, it might, Y/N.” Jim nodded, “That’s why I need you.”

“What do you need me to do, Captain?”

“I need to you to go back to the station with the away team and while charges are being set to destroy the station, I need you to pull any scans from Enterprise that we have already on file of Romulan space and transmit a copy from the station to the lead Romulan ship. I want them to think that we only have old data on the station.”

“Now wait just a minute, Jim.” Leonard’s voice not only interrupted, he physically put his body in between you and the Captain. “Why can’t she do that from here? And for that matter, why can’t someone else do that from here? Why her?”

“I know you’re concerned about her Bones, but she knew exactly what they were looking for AND what they’ve already seen. They will know we are sending old data if we resend what they’ve already looked at. We don’t have a lot of time, the fastest way to accomplish this to have Y/N do it.”

“I’ll do it, Captain,” you say from behind Leonard, you elbow him to the side and give him a look. “Of course I will do my duty.”

“Y/N,” Leonard grabbed your arm and gently pulled you around to face him. “I’m not trying to keep you from doing your duty, I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

“I know, Leonard.” You put a hand on his hand that’s still holding onto you. “I promise I’ll be okay.”

“She will be surrounded by security, Bones, I promise.” Jim added from behind you.

“Oh great,” Leonard’s eyes rolled. “A bunch of no-name red shirts, that’ll keep her safe for sure. They never get shot!”

The plan set in motion as Captain Kirk ordered Sulu to take them back within transport range of the station, but no closer. The three Romulan ships were still there, looking a little worse for wear. Scans indicated the station was empty and the away team prepared to beam over.

“Do you have everything you need?” Leonard asked the hundredth time, walking you to the transporter room.

“Yes, Leonard. I’ll be fine. I’ll only be over there long enough to send the scans over to the Romulan ship. It’ll only take-”

“No! Stop. Every time you give me a time frame and then go over to that blasted station, you come back injured. Just go, do what you need to do, and get back here. Got it?”

“I got it, Leonard.” You pause by the door of the transporter room and step back, pulling Leonard with you into a small conduit closet.

“Y/N, what-“ you silence his mouth with yours as you lips crash against his in a fervent kiss. His arms wrap around your waist and pull you close, being gentle so as to not cause you any rib pain. You had never shared anything other than sweet, gentle kisses thus far. This was none of those things. Passion swept through your body for this man as your arms wrapped around his neck and your fingers threaded through his dark hair. When you finally released his lips, you were both gasping for air.

“You had better come back here quickly, Y/N.” He huffed out, his forehead resting on yours. “I’m going to need you to help me something.” His hands held your hips tight so he could grind his into yours.

“I’ll be back as fast as I can,” you promise, giving him one final kiss and quickly stepping out the closet and into the transporter room.

“Ready to go, lass?” Scotty asked from behind the console.

“Sure am,” you reply with a smile. You step onto the platform with the security guards loaded down with explosives and turn to see Leonard stroll in and stand next to Scotty. His gait was carefree but his eyes were dark with lust and worry. 


	12. The Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit o' smut here. Be warned, I'm not that great at writing smut.

**Third person POV:**

Bones would forevermore mark this day in history as the day when one of Jim Kirk’s plans actually went well. Y/N beamed over the station, sent the old data over to the Romulans as if it were new data, and beamed back to the Enterprise. The security officers set the charges and beamed back aboard as well. Not one got shot. The Romulan officer was returned to his ship with minimal fuss. He couldn’t have just gone quietly, that would have been too easy. But one bloody nose and black eye later, he was back aboard his own ship.

During the final negotiations with the Romulan Captain Ujan, Kirk made it a point to mention consequences should the Romulans ever cross into Federation space without permission again which may or may not have included threats to send over ALL of Enterprise’s engineers to beat up their command staff. Ujan did not appear amused. To punctuate his point, Kirk advised the Romulan ships to move back, the station was about to be demolished. Just as Ujan opened his mouth to protest, the first explosion rocked the station followed quickly by the rest and soon there was nothing left but space dust. The angry Romulans left quickly but there was no more talk of retribution or war between the Federation and the Romulans.

Bones met Y/N back in her quarters when all was said and done. On his way there, he marveled at the recent events. Not only had he found his soul mate, he was falling in love with her! He was naturally a cynical man but he had secretly always wanted his soul mate but wasn’t sure if he could fall in love with someone just because they happen to have the same tattoo. But Y/N was everything he could have asked for and then some! She was beautiful, smart, funny, and she challenged him to be a better man. She didn’t let him get away with being overly grumpy, which he knew he could be. His thoughts were so consumed by her that he didn’t realize he was at her door until he looked up and saw her standing in her open doorway in a clean uniform dress.

“Hey darlin’, can I come in?” He asked, feeling his face stretch into a big grin.

“Sure,” Y/N replied. “What are you smiling about?”

“Oh nothing,” he replied as he moved to her couch and made himself comfortable. He patted the cushion next to him and Y/N sat down, drawing her legs up under her. He put his arm around the back of the couch and she leaned into him. Just the feel of her near him was enough to make his heart smile. “I was thinking about you and me while I was walking here and I had an idea.”

“What kind of an idea?” She smiled up at him and the room brightened.

“A good one I think,” he began evasively. “But I’ve been known to be wrong a time or two in my life.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, truly. I was wrong once at the Academy and my ex-wife loved to tell me the things I was wrong about, although I didn’t always believe her.”

“I’m sure that led to some arguments.” Y/N said conversationally.

“Yes, quite a few actually but I learned something from her, something important.”

“What’s that?”

“I learned that I, Leonard H. McCoy, legendary doctor, can be a pig-headed man sometimes and that I need someone to help me not be quite so…”

“Pig-headed? Ornery? Stubborn? Grumpy?” Y/N quickly supplied.

“Hey,” Bones held a hand up. “Let’s settle on grumpy, it seems the least offensive.”

“So, what is your great idea, Mr. Grumpy-pants?”

“Well,” Bones couldn’t help but chuckle at the nickname. “I was thinking that maybe you could help me be… better.”

“I probably could.”

“But I might need constant care.”

“How constant?”

“Maybe 24/7 constant.”

“Huh. And so what would that entail? You calling me whenever you needed something or what?”

“I was thinking of something a little more…” Leonard let his gaze rest on her face, “intimate.”

“Oh,” Y/N blushed.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” He turned on the couch so he was facing her, taking her hands in his. He heart was beating out of his chest watching her think about his words.

“I’m thinking,” she looked down at their hands and then back up to meet his eyes and smiled. “I’m thinking that I might enjoy that.”

Leonard’s smile widened as he leaned forward and pressed a gentle chaste kiss on her lips. A sigh escaped her lips as she tilted her head to deepen his kiss, pulling herself into his lap. Just as he was about to suggest they move into the bedroom, Y/N pulled back and took his face in her hands.

“Okay, so we’re going to do this but I still think that if either of us ever wants out, we let the other go. Do you still agree?”

“Sweetheart, you’re killing the mood.” Leonard eyed Y/N skeptically, not really believing that they would want to leave each other. “I agree with one stipulation. If either of us leaves and then realizes that it’s the worst mistake they have ever made, they get a second chance. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Y/N smiled and kissed his nose to seal the pact. “Now, if you don’t mind, Dr. McCoy, I think I might need one final exam, just to make sure I’m healing properly.”

“Oh of course! We wouldn’t want anything to go undiagnosed.” Leonard stood and let Y/N lead him. He expected to be led into the bedroom but was surprised when she pushed him down into one of the armless chairs at the table and straddled him, her uniform dress sliding up her thighs. He opened his mouth to say something when she grinded down against him and all he could do was moan, his hands moving to her hips.

She brought her lips down on his in a hot, fervent kiss, still grinding down on his crotch. A soft groan came from her throat as she rubbed her pussy on his clothed cock that made Leonard harden instantly. He reached down in between their bodies and was startled and incredibly turned on to find she wasn’t wearing panties under her dress. He easily parted her folds and let one fingertip lazily circle her clit, wrenching a sigh and a moan from her.

“Leonard,” Y/N panted. “I need you, all of you.”

“Are you sure this is how you want me, darlin’?”

“Yes, god yes!” Y/N reached down and undid his pants and pulled his cock out and stroked it, feeling its length and girth between her fingers. She jerked as Leonard slipped two of his fingers into her, his thumb still circling her clit.

“Leonard, now, I need you now!” Y/N lifted up as Leonard removed his fingers from inside her. She lined herself up over him and slow sank down on his hard cock until she was fully sitting in his lap. Foreheads resting together, they both breathed for second while relishing the feeling of being together. And then, slowly, Y/N began moving. She rolled her hips forward and then back, feeling him deep inside her, stretching her walls. His hands rested on her hips as he watched her face. Everything she felt was written there for him to read.

He gently lifted her only to push her back down on his cock. Her head fell back in ecstasy with a moan and his lips attached to her neck, kissing, biting, and sucking her sensitive skin. She began to ride him in earnest, their moans filling the room. He pulled her dress over her head, yanked her bra down, and sucked a nipple into his mouth. One hand still on her hip, guiding her, his other hand pinched and pulled her other nipple. A hiss left her lips and he grinned into her breast, lifting his eyes to see the pleasure on her face. She leaned back to rest her hands on his knees and rode him faster. His hand made its way back to her clit and rubbed the bud of nerves in time with her riding him.

“Len… I think I’m…” Y/N huffed, her eyes never leaving his.

“Come on baby, come for me, let me feel you.” He encouraged, holding her gaze, putting a little more pressure on her clit. He felt her walls begin to quiver until she finally let out a whimper and squeezed his cock as she came around him, driving him to throw his head back and come hard in her. She rode them down from their highs, each trying to catch their breath.

Leonard wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her his cock and settled her in his lap, her head resting on his shoulder. For the rest of the day they stayed together, snuggling, eating, laughing, and making love. They watched one of Leonard’s favorite old movies, Casablanca, and at the end of the film with the last line, Y/N turned to Leonard and smiled. This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship, one that she hadn’t seen coming but now couldn’t even think of living without. 


End file.
